2011 Pacers Off-Season

Pacers' mascot "Boomer"

            The Indiana Pacers finished the 2010-2011 seasons with a losing record, but made it the postseason under interim coach, Frank Vogel. He is youthful and seems to connect with the young Pacers team. The Pacers increased their scoring average from 97.8 points per game to 102.1 points per game after Vogel took over from fired head coach Jim O’ Brien.

            
            Vogel took advantage of his younger players, and seldom-used players under O’ Brien's reign. Tyler Hansbrough, "2010 Player of the Year" at the University of North Carolina finally looked like the star he was expected to be. He became a starter with Vogel and added a sense of aggression that the Pacers had definitely lacked before.

            
            Vogel also played around with the lineup until he found one that was firing on all cylinders. It was great to see players I had never even heard of make a contribution to victories. Vogel has not yet been given the Pacers head coach job for the 2011 season, but he is considered to be the leading candidate. He knows the system and the players, and has shown he can win. Hopefully, he’ll be back again leading the Pacers to the playoffs.

Frank Vogel

Here is who the Indiana Pacers currently have on their roster:

Guards- Darren Collison, Mike Dunleavy*, T.J. Ford*, A.J. Price, Brandon Rush, Lance Stephenson

Forwards- Danny Granger, Paul George, Tyler Hansbrough, Dahntay Jones, Solomon Jones*, Josh McRoberts*, James Posey

Centers- Roy Hibbert, Jeff Foster*.

*-free agents

             

            Collison, Granger, George, Hansbrough, and Hibbert are the definite core of this team. They are all young players who all have great potential, not to mention the standard starting rotation. Dunleavy is a solid shooting guard, but he’s not getting any younger or better. T.J. Ford has been a disappointment so far. Price, Rush, Stephenson, Jones, Jones, and Posey are just names that could be replaced with anybody. Sure, they’re all good players that know the system, but none of them will ever be all-stars. Foster and McRoberts are both good backups for their respective positions, and sometimes started games.

            

            Larry Bird said in a recent press conference that he wants "10 players that can be competitive every night” . From the 15 players currently listed, I see 7, maybe 8. If the Pacers office can nail this 2011 NBA Draft, then Pacers will have a very bright future.